Jim Gardner, Andy Gibbons hold on for Sullivan Four-Ball championship

View full sizeJEFF REINHART, The Patriot-NewsJim Gardner, left, and Andy Gibbons show off their championship clocks after winning the 67th W.B. Sullivan Four-Ball Invitational Tournament on Sunday at Lebanon Country Club.

TEEING OFF

LEBANON -- Youth was not served at the 67th W.B. Sullivan Four-Ball Invitational Tournament on Sunday. Instead, a couple of wily veterans of local links took care of business when they were pressed by a couple of teens. Jim Gardner and Andy Gibbons were taken to the 18th hole, but fended off 18-yeard-old Kyle Deisher and 19-year-old Brady Goodling 2-up in the final match of the Sullivan, capping off a two-day, 4-0 run through the championship bracket. Gardner, 43, won his third Sullivan grand prize - a clock. Gibbons, 40, won his first clock, but he's a multiple winner in midstate events. Gardner also won in 1999 and again in 2002 with Jim Calhoun. Gardner and Gibbons are Lebanon natives and won in their backyard.

HOW THEY GOT THERE

Gardner and Gibbons began their day Sunday with a runaway 5&4 semifinal win over Steve Walton and Marcos Poccia. Deisher, from Montgomery High School in District 4 and a Monmouth University recruit for this fall, and Goodling, a Manheim Central grad and rising sophomore at Monmouth, also cruised in their semifinal, knocking out Brian Golembiewski and Casey Blankenbiller 4&3 Sunday morning.

KEYS TO VICTORY

The front nine started and ended all square, but Gardner and Gibbons were 2-up after 6. The early highlight came compliments of Gardner, who chipped in from about 40 yards out for eagle on 2. Gardner also rolled in a 40-footer for birdie on 4 and a 5-footer for birdie on 6, and Gibbons jarred a 15-footer for birdie on 5. Deisher got the match back to all square at the turn when he made a 6-footer for birdie on 7 and then nearly aced the 185-yard par-3 9th. Gardner and Gibbons won the first three holes on the back side to take charge, with Gibbons cozying in a two-putt birdie on 10 and Gardner canning a 15-footer for birdie on 11. They were 3-up when Deisher and Goodling made bogey on 12, and were 3-up again when Gardner nearly aced the 172-yard par-3 14th. Deisher responded with a 7-footer for birdie on 15 and Goodling, the reigning Lebanon Country Club men's champ, sank a 25-footer on 16. But when Goodling missed a 30-footer for birdie - and a possible tie - when the match was dormie on 18, Gardner's birdie putt was conceded and that was that.

IN THEIR OWN WORDS

"This is very rewarding. The older you get, you're not sure if you're going to win something like this anymore. That's why this one feels so great. I know the biggest thing for me is my peers. It's always great when they come up to you and congratulate you. That means you did something special. And that's pretty cool." -- Jim Gardner

"This was difficult. It was the hardest match we had all weekend, and there was a lot of pressure. Those guys could really play. We knew they were going to give us a test going down the stretch. So it feels great to win this. Some guys have been trying to win this their whole life. So I'm glad to get this one." -- Andy Gibbons

CHIP SHOTS

Flight 1 winners were Trever Mertz and Ryan Kline (70-63-71--204); Flight 2 winners were Greg Etimos and Eric Schmidt (71-64-68--203); Flight 3 winners were Craig LaBarbera and Jim Cardina (73-70-67--210); Flight 4 winners were P.J. Tighe and Phil Cillo (74-72-67--213). ... Goodling's sister, Haley, a rising sophomore at Manheim Central and the reigning silver medalist from the District 3 tournament last fall, is the reigning Lebanon Country Club women's champ. ... Gardner and Gibbons will play in the Tabor Better-Ball next weekend at West Shore Country Club, although they will not be partners in that tournament. ... No rain issues Sunday, after Saturday's quarterfinals were delayed more than an hour by rain, thunder and lighting.

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